Terry's turn to v e n t i l a t e

[Guest guest]

I'm so fu#k*N¢ mad right now, it's VERY good that I don't own a gun. And

since I can't go to his office and start hurting people, you all get to be my

sounding board.

My PCP's office knows that I don't have insurance after tomorrow... I've been

a patient there for over 5 years, but now, of course, am not " elite " enough,

as someone who's in the process of becoming a " state " ward via Medicaid

(hopefully) that I no longer " fit " ... Haha... This afternoon, not so

different from most days just a little more to the extreme, I couldn't get a

call returned. Nothing new. Except that today, the receptionist is CHASING

the nurse out in the parking lot to get her to return my damn call, since the

good doctor is OUT of the office tomorrow, and this was their last chance to

be of any *HELP*.

My pain med isn't due for a refill until the second of March, so I asked on

my last office visit if the " Doc " would write an Rx - but it's two days too

soon for the insurance co. to fill, so I'm SOL for the month of March for

pain meds.

I asked if he would write for a generic, or if he'd even LOWER the dosage, so

that it would not read as a REFILL, but as a new script, and the insurance

said they could pass it through tomorrow that way - a day early - and

therefore pay for it. At least that would not leave me completely without

pain meds for the month of March, even if lower than usual, as it may well

take that long for Medicaid approval (assuming that goes through okay).

I said " Anything, really - change the meds back to the old script, reduce the

dosage... whatever you're comfortable with... just so that it reads as a

" different " script, instead of a " refill " , and they'd happily fill it!

Otherwise I'm left with coming up with about five hundred bucks out of pocket

to have the drug refilled... and if I had that kind of money, obviously I

wouldn't be in this position, now would I!? He was to get right back to me

with a script, and a form that had to be filled out for Medicaid.

The jerk, of course, would not call back Friday, or Monday, or yesterday, and

certainly not today, and his spineless nurse wouldn't call back. She made

the new flunky (poor innocent kid) call back, and say " Dr. Madison is not

comfortable writing a different script... He feels that would be fraudulent

on his part. And after all, you had the opportunity to discuss this with him

at your last office visit last week " .

ARRRRRGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!! I DIDDDDDDDD DISCUSS IT WITH HIM LAST WEEK, WE WENT

OVER ALL THIS - IN GREAT DETAIL - HE SAID TO LET HIM THINK ABOUT IT, AND I'M

STILL WAITING FOR HIS CALL BACK!!! " I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. " Click.

Well, for grins, after the nurse wouldn't return my calls today, I asked for

scheduling... " Is Dr. Madison by any chance going to be out of the office

tomorrow? " " Uhhmm... Let's see... Why yes, as a matter of fact, he's leaving

now and won't be back until Friday. "

ggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRGGGGGRRRRRRRHHHHHHGGGGG!!!!!

My blood had already boiled, now it's two minutes 'til five (an hour on hold

starting at 3:30, btw, nobody in his office would answer my call - the

spineless assholes) - AND - they CLOSE for business at 4:30 - so I'm beyond

blood boiling, now I'm just crying... I try so hard not to feel like a

" victim " , I hate that mentality, but suddenly I'm REALLY feeling like a

victim with nowhere to turn and nobody to tell and nobody to take up my side

or to turn to for help. I was also trying to ask the nurse to call an 800

number, it's the number to a drug manufacturer's line that provides

medications for persons unable to afford them - well, I decided uh... yeah...

that's me.... all they ask is some basic info, but the DR's office has to

call them to request the form, I can't do it, I already tried - I was trying

to relate this info to the nurse as well, but she was SO snippy with me and

all but cut me off - I was also trying to find out the status of a form that

required the Dr. to sign it, initial that my condition was probably not going

to improve considerably within the next 12 months - a Medicaid form - he said

he would have it finished ASAP - that was last week too - so I wanted to find

out where it was, so I could pick it up. " Was it finished by any chance? " A

simple question, and FAR more polite than was warranted, I promise you...

" Terry, it's right here in the stack with all the things that everybody else

wants, and it's phone calls like THIS ONE that keep me from getting this kind

of work done " . " Well, Janie, I'm just asking what the status of it is, since

everyday that goes without having that form turns into a day that I go

uninsured. " " Well it's NOT done, and by the way, how did you get the phone

number up here, nobody's supposed to be able to be transferred up here! "

" I'm magic " (trying to lighten things up just a bit) - " No... How did you

get the number up here, there not supposed to transfer you up here! " , " Well,

Janie, I ASKED to be transferred up there. " Blah blah blah, end of

conversation, NO results for ANY of my questions, NO help with a pr

escription, NO help what-so-fuc&ing ever, and I've got steam coming out of my

ears... and STILL I was polite, SHE was the rude bitty, and I'M the one left

without having gotten a single damn answer!!???!? What's wrong with this

picture!!???

Now, I know we ALL have problems with our healthcare providers, and sadly,

they have legislatively been backed into so many corners that they're scared

to take a crap without the proper authorization and accurate coding of said

crap, and I just know their damn toilet paper comes in THREE-ply and not two,

so it can be filed in triplicate in the respectable receptacle, but I am so

sick of them being SO damn unwilling to make a decision on their own, ON

BEHALF OF THE PATIENT just once - JUST ONCE - that I swear I do not known how

much more I can take... and I don't have any question as to why so many

people go completely postal, and I swear, I am regularly amazed that MORE

people don't choose that route. Today, like I said, if I had a gun... I

don't know what the hell I would have done.

I called around all day today shopping for dental, vision and Rx plans, there

are several available, and those that COULD give me a cost told me that my

out-of-pocket would STILL be around $450 for one medication, of course the

daily base pain med... Sheeze.... And I'm so angry because, with only the

SLIGHTEST amount of my STILL-BEING-PAID useless healthcare workers, I could

get ALL of that medication FREE, if they'd be willing to take down a couple

of 800 #'s and fill out the required form(s) - It's nothing short of insane.

IT IS SO INSANE. Now I can't decide whether to cry or scream or what to do.

I am not usually, nor easily, overwhelmed. Generally I am very stable, I'm

reasonably level, relatively well-controlled. Right now I'm shaking I'm so

angry. I've half a mind to go to the ER and tell them that my PCP wouldn't

treat me today or something crazy like that... I know I'm just reaching for

straws. I want to get their attention, I want to shake them by the shoulders

and make them understand that I am a human being, that my insurance company

has paid them thousands upon thousands of dollars to treat me, and 48 hours

before my insurance ends, they have already STOPPED treating me, and that it

may well not be illegal, but it's unethical and it's just plain WRONG. But I

am completely at a loss. I am entirely open for suggestions. I'm so open,

I'm raw and bleeding.

At this point, I am going to hope and pray (and call) to see if there is

anything my Medicaid case worker can do to expedite my file - I know, I'm

just a number, and every folder that she has on her desk is equally

important, I'm not more or less so than anybody else... But perhaps, if she

has everything she needs (MINUS THAT DAMN FORM, DAMN THAT DR. ANYWAY!!!),

then maybe there is something she can do. I don't know. It's the only thing

I know to try.

This is a tiny, tiny problem on the " significance " scale compared to what so

many of you are facing right now, and I want you to know that I DO realize

this - I promise. Nonetheless, it has certainly rocked MY universe

temporarily, and has shaken the crap out of my sanity prospects for the next

who knows how many days, and that pisses me off. I know that the wise would

say I cannot allow others to affect me in this way, that I am handing power

over to somebody else when I don't need to, etc., etc., etc... This is true.

(Breathe.) So... Back to the basics....

I am powerless over this situation, minus my ability to follow up and make

the phone calls. That is about all I can do, along with pray. That too I

can do. And this is NOT a good time to work my pancreas into a tizzy, so I

need to calm myself down, chill out, remind myself that my Higher Power is in

charge, that I am not, that things will work out the way they are supposed

to, that the Universe is spinning at exactly the speed at which it is meant

to spin, and all will be well. This is of little significance in the big

picture, in a month or two I will look back and be embarrassed that I got so

worked up, blah, blah, BLAH BLAH BLAH!!!!~!!!!!!!

But RIGHT NOW, I'm still PISSED OFF!!!!

Okay. Thank you for letting me take my turn at blowing off steam. (Can

anybody see through the FOG in here??) Sure lots of warm wind passing

through the list this week. Haha. Thank you for your patience, and, if

you're of the mind, your prayers. I'm scared of the prospect of a month

without pain meds, as I take a pretty high dose, have insurmountable pain

without them, and am certain that at this point I am physically and

psychologically dependent on them. (Notice I didn't say addicted... in case

anybody wants to split hairs.) Haha. SO yeah, that prospect scares the hell

out of me. But who knows... Maybe I'll find five hundred bucks or so in a

pair of jeans that I laundered... Haha.... I've found a few dollars in the

past, even twenty, so why not??

Bleah bleah bleah... BLEAH.

I hope each of you has had a better day today than I have.

Peace,

Terry in KC

[Guest guest]

It's already helping, Louis, thank you very, very much.

T

<< Terry,

My only advise is to hang in there. " It always seems the darkest before the

new daybreak. I'll say an extra prayer for you tonight. Maybe that will

help.

Louie in WV >>

[Guest guest]

Hey Terry,

Hang in there hoss,

Look ahead, the objective is to get a Medicaid hookup with a Dr. that will

write the scripts you need. So, pressure the Medicaid advisor to get a doc,

then press to get the doc's appointment, then see where you stand with that

doc -do you get the script or not? -- if you do then OK if not then you got

to find something wrong with that doc and get another doc. Repeat until you

have the scripts you need.

You current doc has thrown you overboard

It's a long journey but it's the path you are on now, save your energy for

yourself, and don't waste it on others (like your old doc) that don't matter

anymore.

I know this sounds harsh but as had been said on this board before ..

" Reality Sucks "

My very best wishes are with you,

Poncho - GA

PS . . .Spring is coming . . Plant oriental poppies . .if you can get the

female buds to swell, (after flowering the female buds will grow at the base

of the bloom to about the size of your thumb) email me and I will provide

further instructions

[Guest guest]

Terry,

My only advise is to hang in there. " It always seems the darkest before the new

daybreak. I'll say an extra prayer for you tonight. Maybe that will help.

Louie in WV

Terry's turn to v e n t i l a t e

I'm so fu#k*N¢ mad right now, it's VERY good that I don't own a gun. And

since I can't go to his office and start hurting people, you all get to be my

sounding board.

My PCP's office knows that I don't have insurance after tomorrow... I've been

a patient there for over 5 years, but now, of course, am not " elite " enough,

as someone who's in the process of becoming a " state " ward via Medicaid

(hopefully) that I no longer " fit " ... Haha... This afternoon, not so

different from most days just a little more to the extreme, I couldn't get a

call returned. Nothing new. Except that today, the receptionist is CHASING

the nurse out in the parking lot to get her to return my damn call, since the

good doctor is OUT of the office tomorrow, and this was their last chance to

be of any *HELP*.

My pain med isn't due for a refill until the second of March, so I asked on

my last office visit if the " Doc " would write an Rx - but it's two days too

soon for the insurance co. to fill, so I'm SOL for the month of March for

pain meds.

I asked if he would write for a generic, or if he'd even LOWER the dosage, so

that it would not read as a REFILL, but as a new script, and the insurance

said they could pass it through tomorrow that way - a day early - and

therefore pay for it. At least that would not leave me completely without

pain meds for the month of March, even if lower than usual, as it may well

take that long for Medicaid approval (assuming that goes through okay).

I said " Anything, really - change the meds back to the old script, reduce the

dosage... whatever you're comfortable with... just so that it reads as a

" different " script, instead of a " refill " , and they'd happily fill it!

Otherwise I'm left with coming up with about five hundred bucks out of pocket

to have the drug refilled... and if I had that kind of money, obviously I

wouldn't be in this position, now would I!? He was to get right back to me

with a script, and a form that had to be filled out for Medicaid.

The jerk, of course, would not call back Friday, or Monday, or yesterday, and

certainly not today, and his spineless nurse wouldn't call back. She made

the new flunky (poor innocent kid) call back, and say " Dr. Madison is not

comfortable writing a different script... He feels that would be fraudulent

on his part. And after all, you had the opportunity to discuss this with him

at your last office visit last week " .

ARRRRRGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!! I DIDDDDDDDD DISCUSS IT WITH HIM LAST WEEK, WE WENT

OVER ALL THIS - IN GREAT DETAIL - HE SAID TO LET HIM THINK ABOUT IT, AND I'M

STILL WAITING FOR HIS CALL BACK!!! " I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. " Click.

Well, for grins, after the nurse wouldn't return my calls today, I asked for

scheduling... " Is Dr. Madison by any chance going to be out of the office

tomorrow? " " Uhhmm... Let's see... Why yes, as a matter of fact, he's leaving

now and won't be back until Friday. "

ggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRGGGGGRRRRRRRHHHHHHGGGGG!!!!!

My blood had already boiled, now it's two minutes 'til five (an hour on hold

starting at 3:30, btw, nobody in his office would answer my call - the

spineless assholes) - AND - they CLOSE for business at 4:30 - so I'm beyond

blood boiling, now I'm just crying... I try so hard not to feel like a

" victim " , I hate that mentality, but suddenly I'm REALLY feeling like a

victim with nowhere to turn and nobody to tell and nobody to take up my side

or to turn to for help. I was also trying to ask the nurse to call an 800

number, it's the number to a drug manufacturer's line that provides

medications for persons unable to afford them - well, I decided uh... yeah...

that's me.... all they ask is some basic info, but the DR's office has to

call them to request the form, I can't do it, I already tried - I was trying

to relate this info to the nurse as well, but she was SO snippy with me and

all but cut me off - I was also trying to find out the status of a form that

required the Dr. to sign it, initial that my condition was probably not going

to improve considerably within the next 12 months - a Medicaid form - he said

he would have it finished ASAP - that was last week too - so I wanted to find

out where it was, so I could pick it up. " Was it finished by any chance? " A

simple question, and FAR more polite than was warranted, I promise you...

" Terry, it's right here in the stack with all the things that everybody else

wants, and it's phone calls like THIS ONE that keep me from getting this kind

of work done " . " Well, Janie, I'm just asking what the status of it is, since

everyday that goes without having that form turns into a day that I go

uninsured. " " Well it's NOT done, and by the way, how did you get the phone

number up here, nobody's supposed to be able to be transferred up here! "

" I'm magic " (trying to lighten things up just a bit) - " No... How did you

get the number up here, there not supposed to transfer you up here! " , " Well,

Janie, I ASKED to be transferred up there. " Blah blah blah, end of

conversation, NO results for ANY of my questions, NO help with a pr

escription, NO help what-so-fuc&ing ever, and I've got steam coming out of my

ears... and STILL I was polite, SHE was the rude bitty, and I'M the one left

without having gotten a single damn answer!!???!? What's wrong with this

picture!!???

Now, I know we ALL have problems with our healthcare providers, and sadly,

they have legislatively been backed into so many corners that they're scared

to take a crap without the proper authorization and accurate coding of said

crap, and I just know their damn toilet paper comes in THREE-ply and not two,

so it can be filed in triplicate in the respectable receptacle, but I am so

sick of them being SO damn unwilling to make a decision on their own, ON

BEHALF OF THE PATIENT just once - JUST ONCE - that I swear I do not known how

much more I can take... and I don't have any question as to why so many

people go completely postal, and I swear, I am regularly amazed that MORE

people don't choose that route. Today, like I said, if I had a gun... I

don't know what the hell I would have done.

I called around all day today shopping for dental, vision and Rx plans, there

are several available, and those that COULD give me a cost told me that my

out-of-pocket would STILL be around $450 for one medication, of course the

daily base pain med... Sheeze.... And I'm so angry because, with only the

SLIGHTEST amount of my STILL-BEING-PAID useless healthcare workers, I could

get ALL of that medication FREE, if they'd be willing to take down a couple

of 800 #'s and fill out the required form(s) - It's nothing short of insane.

IT IS SO INSANE. Now I can't decide whether to cry or scream or what to do.

I am not usually, nor easily, overwhelmed. Generally I am very stable, I'm

reasonably level, relatively well-controlled. Right now I'm shaking I'm so

angry. I've half a mind to go to the ER and tell them that my PCP wouldn't

treat me today or something crazy like that... I know I'm just reaching for

straws. I want to get their attention, I want to shake them by the shoulders

and make them understand that I am a human being, that my insurance company

has paid them thousands upon thousands of dollars to treat me, and 48 hours

before my insurance ends, they have already STOPPED treating me, and that it

may well not be illegal, but it's unethical and it's just plain WRONG. But I

am completely at a loss. I am entirely open for suggestions. I'm so open,

I'm raw and bleeding.

At this point, I am going to hope and pray (and call) to see if there is

anything my Medicaid case worker can do to expedite my file - I know, I'm

just a number, and every folder that she has on her desk is equally

important, I'm not more or less so than anybody else... But perhaps, if she

has everything she needs (MINUS THAT DAMN FORM, DAMN THAT DR. ANYWAY!!!),

then maybe there is something she can do. I don't know. It's the only thing

I know to try.

This is a tiny, tiny problem on the " significance " scale compared to what so

many of you are facing right now, and I want you to know that I DO realize

this - I promise. Nonetheless, it has certainly rocked MY universe

temporarily, and has shaken the crap out of my sanity prospects for the next

who knows how many days, and that pisses me off. I know that the wise would

say I cannot allow others to affect me in this way, that I am handing power

over to somebody else when I don't need to, etc., etc., etc... This is true.

(Breathe.) So... Back to the basics....

I am powerless over this situation, minus my ability to follow up and make

the phone calls. That is about all I can do, along with pray. That too I

can do. And this is NOT a good time to work my pancreas into a tizzy, so I

need to calm myself down, chill out, remind myself that my Higher Power is in

charge, that I am not, that things will work out the way they are supposed

to, that the Universe is spinning at exactly the speed at which it is meant

to spin, and all will be well. This is of little significance in the big

picture, in a month or two I will look back and be embarrassed that I got so

worked up, blah, blah, BLAH BLAH BLAH!!!!~!!!!!!!

But RIGHT NOW, I'm still PISSED OFF!!!!

Okay. Thank you for letting me take my turn at blowing off steam. (Can

anybody see through the FOG in here??) Sure lots of warm wind passing

through the list this week. Haha. Thank you for your patience, and, if

you're of the mind, your prayers. I'm scared of the prospect of a month

without pain meds, as I take a pretty high dose, have insurmountable pain

without them, and am certain that at this point I am physically and

psychologically dependent on them. (Notice I didn't say addicted... in case

anybody wants to split hairs.) Haha. SO yeah, that prospect scares the hell

out of me. But who knows... Maybe I'll find five hundred bucks or so in a

pair of jeans that I laundered... Haha.... I've found a few dollars in the

past, even twenty, so why not??

Bleah bleah bleah... BLEAH.

I hope each of you has had a better day today than I have.

Peace,

Terry in KC

[Guest guest]

Terry,

I'm praying really really hard that things get better soon.

Kimber

--

Kimber

hominid2@...

California State Chapter Representative

Pancreatitis Association, International

[Guest guest]

<< Obviously you have your doctor & his staff confused with people who give a

crap! >>

ROFL... LOL... Jang, that made me fall off my chair... That was too accurate,

too perfectly put... PERFECT. Hahahaha!!! Thank you!!

I will write more, but I had to tell you that you made my day! Hahaha...

Thank you much.

[Guest guest]

Terry:

Just off the top of my head here.......

If you get yourself in the hospital, the social workers there get you

on medicaid really fast. Catch my drift? Got any chest pain?

Write a letter and fax it to this doc telling him you are going to

report him to the state medical board.......also send him a copy of

the complaint you are going to file. Find the web site for the

medical board for your state and look at their rules. I guarantee

you there will be something on there about being " unethical " . Copy

that, circle the things this doctor is going against and send the doc

a copy of that too.

Can you go to the medicaid office and explain this to them and

possibly get an " emergency " refill or something before all the papers

are done?

I can't think of anything else. If I do I will let you know.

Take care

Kaye

-- In pancreatitis@y..., roguekc@a... wrote:

> I'm so fu#k*N¢ mad right now, it's VERY good that I don't own a

gun. And

> since I can't go to his office and start hurting people, you all

get to be my

> sounding board.

>

> My PCP's office knows that I don't have insurance after tomorrow...

I've been

> a patient there for over 5 years, but now, of course, am

not " elite " enough,

> as someone who's in the process of becoming a " state " ward via

Medicaid

> (hopefully) that I no longer " fit " ... Haha... This afternoon, not

so

> different from most days just a little more to the extreme, I

couldn't get a

> call returned. Nothing new. Except that today, the receptionist

is CHASING

> the nurse out in the parking lot to get her to return my damn call,

since the

> good doctor is OUT of the office tomorrow, and this was their last

chance to

> be of any *HELP*.

>

> My pain med isn't due for a refill until the second of March, so I

asked on

> my last office visit if the " Doc " would write an Rx - but it's two

days too

> soon for the insurance co. to fill, so I'm SOL for the month of

March for

> pain meds.

>

> I asked if he would write for a generic, or if he'd even LOWER the

dosage, so

> that it would not read as a REFILL, but as a new script, and the

insurance

> said they could pass it through tomorrow that way - a day early -

and

> therefore pay for it. At least that would not leave me completely

without

> pain meds for the month of March, even if lower than usual, as it

may well

> take that long for Medicaid approval (assuming that goes through

okay).

>

> I said " Anything, really - change the meds back to the old script,

reduce the

> dosage... whatever you're comfortable with... just so that it reads

as a

> " different " script, instead of a " refill " , and they'd happily fill

it!

> Otherwise I'm left with coming up with about five hundred bucks out

of pocket

> to have the drug refilled... and if I had that kind of money,

obviously I

> wouldn't be in this position, now would I!? He was to get right

back to me

> with a script, and a form that had to be filled out for Medicaid.

>

> The jerk, of course, would not call back Friday, or Monday, or

yesterday, and

> certainly not today, and his spineless nurse wouldn't call back.

She made

> the new flunky (poor innocent kid) call back, and say " Dr. Madison

is not

> comfortable writing a different script... He feels that would be

fraudulent

> on his part. And after all, you had the opportunity to discuss

this with him

> at your last office visit last week " .

>

> ARRRRRGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!! I DIDDDDDDDD DISCUSS IT WITH HIM LAST

WEEK, WE WENT

> OVER ALL THIS - IN GREAT DETAIL - HE SAID TO LET HIM THINK ABOUT

IT, AND I'M

> STILL WAITING FOR HIS CALL BACK!!! " I'm sorry. I'm really

sorry. " Click.

> Well, for grins, after the nurse wouldn't return my calls today, I

asked for

> scheduling... " Is Dr. Madison by any chance going to be out of the

office

> tomorrow? " " Uhhmm... Let's see... Why yes, as a matter of fact,

he's leaving

> now and won't be back until Friday. "

> ggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRGGGGGRRRRRRRHHHHHHGGGGG!!!!!

>

> My blood had already boiled, now it's two minutes 'til five (an

hour on hold

> starting at 3:30, btw, nobody in his office would answer my call -

the

> spineless assholes) - AND - they CLOSE for business at 4:30 - so

I'm beyond

> blood boiling, now I'm just crying... I try so hard not to feel

like a

> " victim " , I hate that mentality, but suddenly I'm REALLY feeling

like a

> victim with nowhere to turn and nobody to tell and nobody to take

up my side

> or to turn to for help. I was also trying to ask the nurse to call

an 800

> number, it's the number to a drug manufacturer's line that provides

> medications for persons unable to afford them - well, I decided

uh... yeah...

> that's me.... all they ask is some basic info, but the DR's office

has to

> call them to request the form, I can't do it, I already tried - I

was trying

> to relate this info to the nurse as well, but she was SO snippy

with me and

> all but cut me off - I was also trying to find out the status of a

form that

> required the Dr. to sign it, initial that my condition was probably

not going

> to improve considerably within the next 12 months - a Medicaid

form - he said

> he would have it finished ASAP - that was last week too - so I

wanted to find

> out where it was, so I could pick it up. " Was it finished by any

chance? " A

> simple question, and FAR more polite than was warranted, I promise

you...

>

> " Terry, it's right here in the stack with all the things that

everybody else

> wants, and it's phone calls like THIS ONE that keep me from getting

this kind

> of work done " . " Well, Janie, I'm just asking what the status of it

is, since

> everyday that goes without having that form turns into a day that I

go

> uninsured. " " Well it's NOT done, and by the way, how did you get

the phone

> number up here, nobody's supposed to be able to be transferred up

here! "

> " I'm magic " (trying to lighten things up just a bit) - " No... How

did you

> get the number up here, there not supposed to transfer you up

here! " , " Well,

> Janie, I ASKED to be transferred up there. " Blah blah blah, end of

> conversation, NO results for ANY of my questions, NO help with a pr

> escription, NO help what-so-fuc&ing ever, and I've got steam coming

out of my

> ears... and STILL I was polite, SHE was the rude bitty, and I'M

the one left

> without having gotten a single damn answer!!???!? What's wrong

with this

> picture!!???

>

> Now, I know we ALL have problems with our healthcare providers, and

sadly,

> they have legislatively been backed into so many corners that

they're scared

> to take a crap without the proper authorization and accurate coding

of said

> crap, and I just know their damn toilet paper comes in THREE-ply

and not two,

> so it can be filed in triplicate in the respectable receptacle, but

I am so

> sick of them being SO damn unwilling to make a decision on their

own, ON

> BEHALF OF THE PATIENT just once - JUST ONCE - that I swear I do not

known how

> much more I can take... and I don't have any question as to why so

many

> people go completely postal, and I swear, I am regularly amazed

that MORE

> people don't choose that route. Today, like I said, if I had a

gun... I

> don't know what the hell I would have done.

>

> I called around all day today shopping for dental, vision and Rx

plans, there

> are several available, and those that COULD give me a cost told me

that my

> out-of-pocket would STILL be around $450 for one medication, of

course the

> daily base pain med... Sheeze.... And I'm so angry because, with

only the

> SLIGHTEST amount of my STILL-BEING-PAID useless healthcare workers,

I could

> get ALL of that medication FREE, if they'd be willing to take down

a couple

> of 800 #'s and fill out the required form(s) - It's nothing short

of insane.

> IT IS SO INSANE. Now I can't decide whether to cry or scream or

what to do.

>

> I am not usually, nor easily, overwhelmed. Generally I am very

stable, I'm

> reasonably level, relatively well-controlled. Right now I'm

shaking I'm so

> angry. I've half a mind to go to the ER and tell them that my PCP

wouldn't

> treat me today or something crazy like that... I know I'm just

reaching for

> straws. I want to get their attention, I want to shake them by the

shoulders

> and make them understand that I am a human being, that my insurance

company

> has paid them thousands upon thousands of dollars to treat me, and

48 hours

> before my insurance ends, they have already STOPPED treating me,

and that it

> may well not be illegal, but it's unethical and it's just plain

WRONG. But I

> am completely at a loss. I am entirely open for suggestions. I'm

so open,

> I'm raw and bleeding.

>

> At this point, I am going to hope and pray (and call) to see if

there is

> anything my Medicaid case worker can do to expedite my file - I

know, I'm

> just a number, and every folder that she has on her desk is equally

> important, I'm not more or less so than anybody else... But

perhaps, if she

> has everything she needs (MINUS THAT DAMN FORM, DAMN THAT DR.

ANYWAY!!!),

> then maybe there is something she can do. I don't know. It's the

only thing

> I know to try.

>

> This is a tiny, tiny problem on the " significance " scale compared

to what so

> many of you are facing right now, and I want you to know that I DO

realize

> this - I promise. Nonetheless, it has certainly rocked MY universe

> temporarily, and has shaken the crap out of my sanity prospects for

the next

> who knows how many days, and that pisses me off. I know that the

wise would

> say I cannot allow others to affect me in this way, that I am

handing power

> over to somebody else when I don't need to, etc., etc., etc... This

is true.

> (Breathe.) So... Back to the basics....

>

> I am powerless over this situation, minus my ability to follow up

and make

> the phone calls. That is about all I can do, along with pray.

That too I

> can do. And this is NOT a good time to work my pancreas into a

tizzy, so I

> need to calm myself down, chill out, remind myself that my Higher

Power is in

> charge, that I am not, that things will work out the way they are

supposed

> to, that the Universe is spinning at exactly the speed at which it

is meant

> to spin, and all will be well. This is of little significance in

the big

> picture, in a month or two I will look back and be embarrassed that

I got so

> worked up, blah, blah, BLAH BLAH BLAH!!!!~!!!!!!!

>

> But RIGHT NOW, I'm still PISSED OFF!!!!

>

> Okay. Thank you for letting me take my turn at blowing off

steam. (Can

> anybody see through the FOG in here??) Sure lots of warm wind

passing

> through the list this week. Haha. Thank you for your patience,

and, if

> you're of the mind, your prayers. I'm scared of the prospect of a

month

> without pain meds, as I take a pretty high dose, have

insurmountable pain

> without them, and am certain that at this point I am physically and

> psychologically dependent on them. (Notice I didn't say

addicted... in case

> anybody wants to split hairs.) Haha. SO yeah, that prospect

scares the hell

> out of me. But who knows... Maybe I'll find five hundred bucks or

so in a

> pair of jeans that I laundered... Haha.... I've found a few dollars

in the

> past, even twenty, so why not??

>

> Bleah bleah bleah... BLEAH.

>

> I hope each of you has had a better day today than I have.

>

> Peace,

> Terry in KC

[Guest guest]

> My PCP's office knows that I don't have insurance after tomorrow...

I've been a patient there for over 5 years, but now, of course, am not

" elite " enough, as someone who's in the process of becoming a " state "

ward via Medicaid (hopefully) ... This afternoon, I couldn't get a

call returned.

> My pain med isn't due for a refill until the second of March, so I

asked on my last office visit if the " Doc " would write an Rx - but

it's two days too soon for the insurance co. to fill, so I'm SOL for

the month of March for pain meds.

> I asked if he would write for a generic, or if he'd even LOWER the

dosage, so that it would not read as a REFILL, but as a new script,

and the insurance said they could pass it

through tomorrow that way - a day early - and therefore pay for it.

At least that would not leave me completely

without pain meds for the month of March, even if lower than usual, as

it may well take that long for Medicaid

approval (assuming that goes through okay).

> The jerk, of course, would not call back Friday, or Monday, or

yesterday, and certainly not today,

> ........ nowhere to turn and nobody to tell and nobody to take up my

side or to turn to for help. I was also trying to ask the nurse to

call an 800 number, it's the number to a drug manufacturer's line that

provides medications for persons unable to afford them - the DR's

office has to call them to request the form, I can't do it, I already

tried - I was trying to relate this info to the nurse as well, but she

was SO snippy with me and all but cut me off - I was also trying to

find out the status of a form that required the Dr. to sign it,

initial that my condition was probably not going to

improve considerably within the next 12 months - a Medicaid form

- he said he would have it finished ASAP - that was last week too - so

I wanted to find out where it was, so I could pick it up. " Was it

finished by any chance? " A simple question, and FAR more polite than

was warranted, I promise you... Well it's NOT done

> What's wrong with this picture!!???

> IT IS SO INSANE. Now I can't decide whether to cry or scream or

what to do.

> I've half a mind to go to the ER and tell them that my PCP

wouldn't treat me today or something crazy like that... I know I'm

just reaching for straws. I want to get their attention, I want to

shake them by the shoulders and make them understand that I am a human

being, that my insurance company has paid them thousands upon

thousands of dollars to treat me, and 48 hours before my

insurance ends, they have already STOPPED treating me, and that it

may well not be illegal, but it's unethical and it's just plain

WRONG. But I am completely at a loss. I am entirely open for

suggestions.

> At this point, I am going to hope and pray (and call) to see if

there is anything my Medicaid case worker can do to expedite my file -

> But perhaps, if she has everything she

needs (MINUS THAT DAMN FORM, DAMN THAT DR. ANYWAY!!!), then maybe

there is something she can do. I don't know. It's the only thing I

know to try.

> Peace,

> Terry in KC

Hi Terry. Just read your posting & I feel so badly for you. Obviously

you have your doctor & his staff confused with people who give a crap!

I'm not sure if what the doctor is(n't) doing is a form of " patient

abandonment " . He could probably excuse it by saying he is willing to

provide a prescription, just not to do it ahead of time. Why let

reality, finances, and common sense (not to mention compassion) enter

into what is an obvious business transaction?

The idea of going to the ER is NOT off base. Explain that you lost

your insurance & need a script to carry you until you get a new

doctor. It may or may not work. Unfortunately you will run up a bill

or hospital co-pay for the ER visit.

Definitely call the Medicaid case worker. If the rest of your file is

complete, she may be able to call the doctor's office and have them

fax a copy of the form to her. You have only a phone call & some time

to lose by trying.

If all else fails & IF you have the energy go to the doctor's office

in person. Start by being polite, then escalate. Put your training as

a civilized person behind you. Get loud. Don't leave the waiting room.

Barf in front of the receptionist's desk if possible. Retching is also

effective. Its so difficult for those of us who are reasonable &

polite by nature, but you are now being pushed to where civilized

behavior is an unaffordable luxury. Hope for a filled waiting room,

get loud, be persistant. Unfortunately this type of behavior often

succeeds.

If nothing else, you will feel better for having vented your feelings

of frustration & despair.

After this situation resolves, please contact the administrators of

whatever hospitals your doctor is on the staff of & complain about

abandonment. Also contact the medical board & file a complaint.

A letter to the editor of your newspaper can be helpful in several

ways - venting for you, embarrassment & censure for the doctor, maybe

help from some one who reads the story.

Good luck with this. Please let me know what happens. All best wishes,

jang